Cruise Law News : Maritime Lawyer & Attorney : James M. Walker : Walker & O'Neill Law Firm : Admiralty Law, Cruise Ship Accidents & Injuries

This week the United States Coast Guard rescued two cruise passengers - one ill young man from the NCL Gem cruise ship sailing off the coast of North Carolina and a second young woman from the Explorer cruise ship who was suffering from an appendicitis attack near Key West Florida. 

When we report on these type of rescues, we sometimes hear from readers of Cruise Law News complaining that the cost of the medical evacuations should be borne by the sick passengers themselves. 

We especially hear these complaints when a passenger inadvertently goes overboard.  Was the passenger acting negligently or was he or she under the influence of alcohol (a major money maker for the cruise lines).  If so, many people protest loudly and angrily that the cruise passenger should bear the extra fuel expenses and other costs incurred by the cruise ship and the Coast Guard searching for the missing passenger.   

Federal agencies are prohibited by law from seeking reimbursement of the costs associated with search and rescue of this type. 

So who bears the expense when the cruise lines act irresponsibly and the cruise goes terribly wrong?

Consider the fire last year aboard the Carnival Splendor which caused the cruise ship to lose power off of the coast of Mexico.  The Carnival ship was disabled due to the negligent design of the cruise ship itself which risked the lives of 4,500 passengers and crew.  As we reported before, the U.S. Coast Guard blasted Carnival for its defective engines and poorly designed safety instructions which caused several thousands of passengers to find themselves helplessly adrift at sea without lighting, air conditioning or hot water on the high seas. 

Carnival quickly considered legal claims against the companies which designed and manufactured the engines which failed.  Carnival did not hesitate making a claim against these companies for the revenues lost while the Splendor sat in dry dock being repaired.

But who paid for the enormous costs associated with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard responding to the emergency?  

You will recall that the U.S. Navy sent an aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan, to the scene as the mostly U.S. passengers bobbed around on the high seas.  The Navy utilized four aircraft and helicopters to assist the stricken Carnival ship.  The Navy made twenty-four airlifts of food and provisions which its aircrew skilfully dropped onto the Carnival cruise ship to feed the passengers.  

How much did this cost and who was paying for it? 

I inquired around and the only knowledgeable source was the International Cruise Victims ("ICV") organization whose President, Ken Carver, had requested information from the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA") request.

The U.S. Navy timely responded to Mr. Carver's FOIA request.  The Navy disclosed that it delivered 60 pallets, weighing over 37,000 pounds, of "bread, luncheon meat, pop tarts, canned crab, water and paper plates." 

Considering the cost of positioning an aircraft carrier, dispatching multiple aircraft and helicopters, and delivering tons of food and water to be dropped onto the cruise ship, the Navy stated that it spent $1,884,376.75 responding to the fire aboard the Carnival Splendor cruise ship.  

This figure does not include the costs incurred by the U.S. Coast Guard in responding to the crisis and towing the cruise ship back to San Diego.  Unfortunately, the Coast Guard has not yet provided any information in response to Mr. Carver's FOIA request dating back to earlier this year.

The Coast Guard's costs were undoubtedly another $2,000,000 or so in personnel and fuel costs for their vessels and helicopters.

There is a certain irony that cruise lines, which structure their businesses to avoid U.S. taxes and U.S. safety regulations, are dependent on the generosity of our Federal agencies in responding to emergencies when they get themselves into a jam.  

Cruise lines incorporate in foreign countries like Liberia and Panama and register their cruise ships in foreign countries like the Bahamas in order to avoid U.S. laws and all U.S. income taxes. The cruise industry collects over $35,000,000,000 (billion) a year in income from mostly income-tax-paying-Americans, yet it avoids U.S. corporate income tax by incorporating itself and registering its ship abroad.

But when the cruise ships catch on fire and are adrift on the high seas, cruise lines like Carnival are the first to make a distress call to the United States and ask for favors from the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard. 

When cruise passengers were thinking of suing Carnival last year for the inconvenience caused by the cruise fire aboard the Splendor, I was the first one to say don't do it.  Many of the major news networks and newspapers picked up on the my don't-sue-Carnival message, like the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Fox News,  ABA Journal, Gadling, and the U.K's Mirror.

At the end of the day, it was not the cruise passengers who filed suit.  It was Carnival who made legal claims against the companies which designed and manufactured its engines.  Carnival made millions in the process.

Did Carnival, the only one suing, repay the U.S. government?  

Not a penny.

So who paid for all of the millions of dollars in emergency services expended by our U.S. Navy and Coast Guard arising from the negligence of the tax-avoiding, foreign flagged and incorporated cruise line which stranded thousands of tax-paying Americans on the high seas?

You, the American taxpayers.    

For additional information about the Carnival Splendor fire and cruise ship fires in general, consider reading:

Carnival Splendor CO2 Firefighting System: "A Recipe for Failure"

"Coast Guard Blasts Carnival Splendor for Fire Negligence"

Ten Years of Cruise Ship Fires - Has the Cruise Industry Learned Anything? 

Photo credit:  bottom photo / U.S.S. Ronald Reagan - providencefox.com

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A fire broke out yesterday aboard an Egyptian bound ferry, the Pella, in the Gulf of Aqaba, which is the northeastern tip of the Red Sea.

There were approximately 1240 passengers aboard the cruise ferry at the time of the fire.  The ferry was ten miles off of the coast of Jordan.  A number of military vessels and helicopters responded to the emergency.  There are conflicting news accounts whether the rescue operations were conducted solely by Jordan or a combination of Jordanian and Egyptian vessels.  

One passenger died.  All other passengers were rescued and various news sources are reporting between twelve and twenty-five passengers were hospitalized for smoke inhalation injuries. 

The Pella is owned by the Al-Jisr Al-Arabi company, which is described as a shipping company owned by Egyptian and Jordanian businessmen.

The AP reports that in February 2006, about 1,000 passengers, mostly Egyptian workers returning home from Saudi Arabia, died when a fire broke out on a ferry. 

Photo credit: Abraham Farajyan / EPA (via MSNBC photoblog)

For aditional information about cruise ship fires, consider reading:

Ten Years of Cruise Ship Fires - Has the Cruise Industry Learned Anything?

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New sources report today that hundreds of people cowered for hours inside a shopping mall in the resort town of Cabo San Lucas today while security forces traded gunfire with armed criminals at the Plaza Sendero shopping center.

A local newspaper in Mexico, Milenio, reports that 12 men armed with high powered rifles (AK-47's), were traveling in three vans (other articles say 3 - 4 men).  When they were observed by police, they retreated into a store at the mall. They were suspected of killing a marine the night before.  There are conflicting stories whether they held 200 of the 600 shoppers hostage.  After a shoot out, three men were arrested according to Borderland Beat.  

This dangerous event occurred after cruise lines like Princess Cruises, its parent company Carnival Cruise Line, and Disney Cruise Line pulled out of Mexican ports such as Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta in the last few months because of fears of violence.

Is it safe to cruise to Mexico when places like Cabo San Lucas turn into a scene from the Wild West?

You can see the gun battle and arrests in the video below:

October 29, 2011 Update:  The incident may be related to another gun fight broke out late on the night of October 28, 2011 between 11:00 PM and 3:00 AM in Cabo San Lucas "between Mexican military and assumed narco trafficantes."  One soldier and a gunman are dead and two police officers are seriously injured.  A video of the nighttime shooting is below: 

Video credits: Top - TheRasek79 (YouTube); bottom - BajaWhistleBlower (YouTube)

Photo credits:  Pat Garcia / La Paz, Mexico

October 30, 2011 Update:  Photographs are emerging of the criminals holding hostages (above) and the military responding to the situation (below).  Photos courtesy of Now Public / Pat Garcia, La Paz, Mexico. 

For other articles about crime in Mexico:

U.S. Travel Warnings to Mexico

Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Lines Pull Ships From L.A. Due To Crime In Mexico

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico Tells Princess Cruises: "We're Safer Than Your Cruise Ships!"

Frommer's Is it Safe to Travel to Los Cabos? 

LA Times: Mexico Woos Tourists as U.S. Advises Travelers to Avoid Parts of the Violence-Plagued Country

Fox News: Cruise Ships Avoid Mazatlán Due to Crimes Targeting Tourists 

Cabo San Lucas Heats Up

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A fire broke out on the Queen Mary 2 Wednesday night.

Cruise Critic, which characterizes the fire as "small," explains that "fire was caused by one of QM2's gas turbines, which are situated below and behind the ship's funnel. They're used to augment power to the ship's main quartet of diesel turbines, allowing the ship to travel at a higher maximum speed  . . . "

Cunard issued a statement claiming that the fire was "immediately extinguished."  The cruise line also claims that "neither passengers nor crew were adversely affected, and neither was the operation of the ship."

Cruise expert Professor Ross Klein's website contains a reference to a post on Cruise Critic which provides a different perspective on the incident:

"A gas carbine in the engine room of the QM2 caught on fire this evening. Cunard staff were given a 90 minute warning in order to prepare to deploy the lifeboats. Guests had their children dropped off and their animals picked up from the kennels. Apparently it is now under control, but people are understandably shaken up."    

Last December, the QM2 suffered a major engine room incident - Power Outage on Queen Mary 2 Due to Catastrophic Explosion.  

The QM2 will be arriving today in New York late due to what the cruise line describes as "high winds and active seas." 

It is a scary proposition that the Cunard cruise ship was contemplating the use of life boats in such rough weather.

It will be interesting to hear the first hand accounts of the QM2 cruise passengers once they disembark today from their transatlantic voyage.

If you were on the cruise and have comments, photos or video to share, please leave a comment below.

October 10, 2011 Update:  We are receiving some interesting and intelligent comments from a number of cruisers who were on the QM2.  Sounds like a bumpy ride and a fortunate ending to a potentially dangerous situation.  Here is a quote from a passenger who emailed me rather than leaving a comment:

"The biggest problem with the fire on the QM2 was its location. It was NOT as previously reported in an engine room, but in a gas turbine up on deck 12. The problem was this was an open deck and the winds were very strong that night. Yes the fire was minor but the risk was that it could have been spread by very high winds. In fact after the fire was contained, the captain announced that there would be an observation team on deck 12 all night as there were some burning embers.
We learned later that if the fire had not been contained we would have had to board lifeboats in very rough waters (20-25 ft seas). Many of the passengers were needing assistance when we tendered in calm seas, because of age and physical limitations, walkers, wheelchairs etc. At the time of the fire we were more than 250 nautical miles out to sea.  Just wanted to clear up a few facts. Thank you." 
  

Photo credit:  Wikipedia (Malis)   

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The Associated Press is reporting that a fire on the M/S Nordlys cruise ship this morning killed two people and injured at least nine others while operating on a popular route along Norway's coast. 

The AP reports that nine people were taken to the hospital, two with serious burns and smoke injuries.  Eight of those injured and sent to the hospital were crew members.  Mail Online reports that 16 people were injured and two additional people (probably crewmembers) are missing.

The fire broke out in the engine room.   

The Nordlys, operated by Hurtigruten, reportedly had over 200 passengers on board at the time of the fire.  100 passengers were evacuated by lifeboats before the cruise ship reached port in Alesund, which is 230 miles northwest of Oslo.  The cruise ship was then escorted into port where the remainder of the passengers were evacuated.

The cruise line has an information link on its website which can be viewed here.  The only information posted is as follows:

"Following a fire on board the MS Nordlys all guests have been safely evacuated to the Rica Parken Hotel in Ålesund. There were 207 guests on board of varying nationalities and 55 crew.  Relatives hotline: +47 47 83 47 00."

If this information is correct, all of the injuries and deaths involved crewmembers.

Cruise ship fires are not as uncommon as you may think.  Take a moment and read Ten Years of Cruise Ship Fires - Has the Cruise Industry Learned Anything?

The last engine room fire on a cruise ship occurred last year on the Carnival Splendor, resulting the stranding of over 3,000 passengers and over 1,000 crewmembers.

Last year, an engine room fire caused the evacuation of over 600 passengers and crew in Norwegian waters. That incident involved the German cruise ship Deutschland.

After the Nordlys reached port the ship continued to burn, as show in the video below.  

Video credit: TV2 Norway via CNN

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In the last week there have been a number of articles about certain cruise lines enacting new policies to restrict smoking on their cruise ships.

Yesterday the Miami Herald published an article Cruise Lines Putting Out More "No Smoking" Signs which discussed the policies of some of the cruise lines which have new rules prohibiting smoking in cabins and other areas of the cruise ships.

None of the articles mention passenger safety.  Rather the articles focus on the annoyance of passengers arriving in a cabin which had been smoked out by prior guests, or the nuisance of having to smell the smoke of cigarettes drifting into into cabins from adjacent balconies.    

The article mentions a new policy by Norwegian Cruise Line ("NCL") which announced that smoking will be banned inside cabins on all of its eleven cruise ships starting in January 2012. However, NCL announced that passengers can still smoke on balconies.

Carnival also announced that smoking is permitted only in dance clubs, jazz clubs, casinos and bars, and certain parts of open decks. Like NCL, Carnival is forbidding smoking in all staterooms across its fleet of cruise ships, but it gives a green light to its passengers to smoke on balconies.

Oh, how these cruise lines forget the lessons of history.

On March 23, 2006, a passenger aboard Princess Cruises' Star Princess cruise ship smoking on a balcony flicked a cigarette overboard, thinking that it would drop innocently into the waters off of the coast of Jamaica.  Instead, the burning cigarette was whipped by the winds of the cruise ship, as it proceeded at over 20 knots, into a lower balcony.  It came into contact with the highly combustible furniture and partitions on a lower balcony. The cigarette smoldered, then erupted into a nightmarish fire.

Cruise passengers Richard Liffridge (photo above left) and his wife Vicky were asleep peacefully in their cabin.  The plastic partitions between the balconies below them were easily combustible. The Princess cruise ship had no fire suppression systems on the balconies of the cruise ship. The fire quickly spread across hundreds of other cabin balconies and then erupted into the cruise ship cabins.

Disoriented and confused, Richard and Vicky tried to crawl out of their cabin, through the cabin hallway.  They tried to hold on to one another as they tried to escape the billowing fire as they crawled, scratching across the hallway carpeting seeking safety.  Fire sparked and smoke billowed over their heads.

But the smoke and fire separated them as they tried to escape.

Vicki heard Richard moan “Vicky, don’t let me die!”

Vicki searched for her husband but was overwhelmed  by the smoke and fire.  Richard was lost in the darkness and oppressive heat.  Vicki was  taken to an open deck and treated for smoke inhalation.

Vicki later identified Richard's dead body, covered in soot, resembling a chimney sweep - a far cry from the distinguished, smiling man whose photograph (top left) was taken in a smart suit and tie just the day before.

Vicki and Richard's daughter, Lynnette Hudson, and other family members retained our firm to represent them in a case against Princess Cruises.  The case was highly successful, but that's not the point of this article.  Rather, the surviving family members demanded that the cruise line take steps to make certain that such a catastrophe never occur again.

Princess acted quickly to replace the highly combustible balcony wall partitions and furniture on the balconies, and to install fire detectors and fire suppression systems which had never been installed on any cruise ship before.   

Ms. Hudson later boarded the cruise ship with us after it had been repaired and inspected the external heat detectors and sprinkler systems which were installed after her father's death.

Ms. Hudson is shown (below) pointing to the heat detectors and sprinklers.  Although Princess cruise ships have been retrofitted with sprinkler systems on the cabin's balconies, not all cruise ships sailing today have such safety systems.

Vicki Liffridge and Ms. Hudson later traveled to Washington D.C. to attend a Congressional hearing into the safety of cruise passengers.  They requested Congress to enact legislation to protect passengers on cruise ships.

In her Congressional testimony, Ms. Hudson expressed her fear that other families may face the risks of a cruise fire which killed her father:

"CLIA tells us that by the year 2010 twenty million passengers will sail on cruise ships. Visions of these passengers flicking their cigarettes over the rails as unsuspecting passengers are asleep in their cabins, with no fire detectors or sprinklers instantly comes to mind . . . "

Unfortunately, many cruise lines, including Carnival (which is the parent company of Princess Cruises) and NCL have not replaced the easily combustible balcony partitions and installed fire suppression systems on the balconies.

The news today is disappointing.  Carnival and NCL still permit smoking on balconies.  

A year ago, I wrote an article Ten Years of Cruise Ship Fires - Has the Cruise Industry Learned Anything?

Why would any responsible cruise line not tell the smoke addicts that balconies are strictly off limits for lighting up a smoke?

Has Carnival and NCL learned anything in the past ten years? 

Before you take your family on a cruise, ask the cruise line or your local travel agent if the cruise ship has fire suppression systems for the passenger balconies.  If not, consider selecting a cruise line which does. 

Additional Information:

Wall Street Journal: "Cruise Lines Scramble to Replace Fire Hazard - Deadly Blaze Exposed Danger of Plastic Balcony Partitions Used on Dozens of Ships"

LA Times: "Cruise Industry's Dark Waters"

MAIB Report of the Star Princess fire.

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The Telegraph newspaper in the U.K. has an interesting story containing a passenger's account of events aboard the Independence of the Seas following the explosion at the port in Gibraltar.  Some of the accounts:

“People thought it was a bomb and started screaming. Parents jumped in the pool to grab their children, while others dashed to the kids’ club on deck 12 to see if their children were injured.”

"One crew member . . . heard screaming and saw black smoke; she thought one of the restaurants was on fire."

"At dinner that night, the explosion was on everyone’s lips. 'We thought it was a bomb,' one middle-aged passenger said. 'American ship in a British port – quite an easy target.'

All of the accounts we have read praised the captain and crew.  "Within minutes, the captain made an announcement, ordering everyone off the open decks and balconies, and sending a rapid response team up to deck 11 where the outdoor pools and bars were packed with young families making the most of the Gibraltar heat."

"Officers ran along the side of the dock to the stern of the ship, presumably to check for any damage . . .   Just four minutes later, we slipped our moorings and the ship sailed . . . Thanks to a quick-thinking captain, a major incident was averted." 

YouTube member "Kasbah89" posted a video of the fire.  It shows the Independence of the Seas quickly departing away from the burning oil tank and turning to head out of danger:

Were you on the cruise and have photos or video to share?  Please let us here from you.

Video credit:  kasbah89 / YouTube

Some amazing photographs can be viewed at David Parody's Flickr photostream here.

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Several news sources are reporting that an oil tank exploded at the port in Gibraltar today.

Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas cruise ship was in port at the time of the explosion.  One newspaper reports that the cruise ship was due to sail at 4 p.m. but was "berthed nearby" when the oil tank exploded. 

The cruise ship then reportedly "quickly sailed away and anchored in the bay."

The Gilbraltar Chronicle reports that two people ashore were injured, one reportedly seriously due to burns. 

Twelve cruise passengers were injured.  The cruise line issued a statement indicating that the injuries are allegedly "minor."  Subsequent news sources are saying that eleven Britons and one Swiss passenger sustained injuries consisting of burns, abrasions and a dislocated finger.

Radio Gilbraltar ran a live feed of the fire as it continued to burn, with an additional oil tank involved.  Radio Gilbraltar reports that the Independence of the Seas felt the "full force" of the blast: 

There is an indication that the explosion may have been caused by a spark from welding.

If you have photos or video of this incident, please contact us and we will post them on our blog.

Photo credit:  

Top:  Gibraltar Chronicle

Bottom:  Panorama newspaper in Gibraltar (Douglas Cumming)

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Yesterday was a rather strange day.  I received  a couple of calls and emails asking for information about a cruise ship fire which ruined the honeymoon of Tina Fey. 

Tina Fey?  The comic, I asked?  You mean the Saturday Night Live star with the great impressions of Sarah Palin?  The star of NBC's 30 Rock??  On her honeymoon on a cruise ship which caught fire, I asked???  Yes, that's right the inquiring minds insisted, mentioning something about "reading about it in the newspapers."

Hmm.  The last cruise ship fire I am  aware of involved the Mexican cruise ship, the Ocean Star Pacifica, earlier this week.  A generator fire knocked out power to the cruise ship, forcing the evacuation of its passengers and crew.  Certainly a celebrity like Tina Fey would not be caught dead slumming on a 41 year old Mexican cruise ship.  Maybe she sailed on a super luxury ship like the Silver Cloud  or the Seabourn Sojourn but certainly not an old tub like the Ocean Star.   

So I googled Tina Fey and cruise ship fire and sure enough, there were a dozen "articles" about the topic.  But the "newspapers" were all gossip rags like STAR magazine which published the  "breaking story" "Fey's Honeymoon Cruise Was Wrecked By Fire," which gave this account:

Comedienne Tina Fey will always remember her honeymoon for all the wrong reasons - the cruise ship she and her husband were sailing home to New York from Bermuda on caught fire.

The actress/writer admits the voyage had been a lot of fun until she found herself standing by a lifeboat about to abandon ship.

Fey recalls, "The ship was on fire, so we had to go and stand by our lifeboats... and we really had to stand women and children in the front, men in the back, and I remember holding hands with my husband, thinking like, 'Oh my gosh, we're gonna be one of those people on the news that died on their honeymoon...' and he said he was thinking... 'It's gonna be so hard for her when they bring the lifeboats down and she stays with me'.  I was thinking, 'It's gonna be so hard for him when I get on that lifeboat.  But it all worked out.'

This account intrigued me even more.  Tina Fey is a joker but certainly she would not joke about something as serious as a cruise ship fire with passengers about to abandon ship. 

So I did a little research, and found out that the incident did occur although it certainly was not "breaking news."  The fire occurred in June 2001, and involved Royal Caribbean's Nordic Empress.  

The Nordic Empress was sailing back from Bermuda to New York following a 7 day cruise. The fire erupted when the cruise ship was about 140 miles northwest of Bermuda.

The Royal Caribbean PR people said that the fire "was quickly extinguished by the ship's crew and its sprinkler system." 

The Coast Guard investigation revealed that the fires in the engine room were not completely extinguished for three hours.  The damage caused the vessel to be adrift for seven hours. (The country of Liberia, where the cruise ship was flagged, invited the U.S. Coast Guard to conduct the inspection).

You can read the marine casualty report here, and you can review an excellent summary of the incident by the Professional Mariner here.

Saturday Night Live (SNL) has entertained the public with some funny skits about cruise ships over the years.  Seth Meyer did a funny bit about Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas.  Adam Sandler starred in a unfunny movie called "Going Overboard." 

But unlike her co-stars on SNL, Tina Fey went through the real deal - a fire which disabled the cruise ship and caused over 1,500 passengers to stand at their muster stations on the deck at night ready to abandon ship - only to now laugh about it ten years later.

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First impressions are everything.  The first Mexican cruise line has already earned a dubious reputation.    

The Secretary of Tourism, Gloria Guevara Manzo, said that the cruises are key to the expansion to tourism in Mexico. 

Mexico is off to a rough start. 

Ocean Star Cruises had just its second cruise this week.  Cruceros Ocean Star had a disastrous start.  A  generator fire knocked out power to the Ocean Star Pacific cruise ship, forcing the evacuation of its passengers and crew Saturday.  Some 522 passengers and 226 crew members were reportedly evacuated by catamaran to the port of Huatulco with the intention of flying them to Mexico City.

The Ocean Star Pacific was built in 1971 for Royal Caribbean Cruises and sailed as one of Royal Caribbean first cruise ships as the Nordic Prince.

We wish our Mexican friends better luck with their new cruise line!  

Foto: Alfredo Guerrero Flickr

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Cruise Law News was featured in an article yesterday about the Carnival Splendor fire and the new Coast Guard marine bulletins criticizing the cruise line's fire suppression system which malfunctioned.  The article is by Joel Siegfried in the National Examiner entitled "Coast Guard Blasts Carnival Splendor for Fire Negligence."   The Examiner is one of the newer and very popular internet newspapers, with a readership of around 1,000,000.

The Examiner also has an interesting photo slideshow showing the defective fire suppression system on the Carnival cruise ship.  Here is the article unedited:

Two just released reports by the United States Coast Guard are highly critical of the Carnival Splendor concerning a fire at sea which disabled the vessel on November 8, 2010.  Upon learning of this report, many of the passengers who were aboard the Carnival Splendor "Cruise to Nowhere" were incensed about the ship's inability to properly manage an automated emergency fire suppression system, which was reported on a KGTV interview segment on Friday, December 24, 2010.

To gain insights into this incident, we contacted Miami Florida based maritime attorney James Walker, who also writes the Cruise Law News Blog.  Mr. Walker previously advised passengers not to sue Carnival Cruise Lines over this latest incident, even though the Company has a long history of shipboard fires, cited in his comprehensive article "Ten Years of Cruise Ship Fires - Has the Cruise Industry Learned Anything?"

For Carnival Cruise Line alone, these have included a fire on the Carnival Ecstasy, shortly after leaving leaving Miami on July 20, 1998, that was extinguished by fire boats, causing damages exceeding $17 million; the Carnival Tropicale in September 1999, which left the ship adrift in the Gulf of Mexico with 1,700 passengers and crew members for almost two days after the fire disabled the engines; and the June 18, 1995 fire aboard the Carnival Celebration which forced 1,700 passengers to evacuate.   

We asked Mr. Walker to give us his views on the Carnival Splendor fire. He graciously responded with the following remarks on Christmas Day.

"In the 1999 fire on Carnival's Tropicale there where problems where the crew members didn't speak English well enough to provide safety instructions. So here we are over 10 years later with another breakdown in communication with the fire instruction manual on the Splendor written in broken English.  Italian officers and Filipino crew scratching their heads trying to decipher an instruction book written in broken English as the cruise ship burns.  What a frightening spectacle.  No one realized the instruction manual didn't match the fire suppression system for two and one-half years?  This certainly gives the public an insight into the consequences of flagging cruise ships in Panama.  The marine safety bulletins reflects Carnival's negligence."

The U.S. Coast Guard has been investigating the fire which disabled the 113,300 gross register tons (GRT) Italian built  Concordia-class cruise ship Carnival Splendor, and have released two marine safety alerts dated December 21, 2010, ominously titled "Wrong Directions: A Recipe for Failure" and "Simple Failures Render CO2 System Inoperative", about an unnamed vessel, but clearly about the Carnival Splendor.  The Coast Guard has confirmed that fact to industry publication Professional Mariner.

According to the reports, the two alerts each "address critical concerns uncovered during an ongoing marine casualty investigation and should be of vital interest to Ship Builders, Classification Societies, Owner / Operators and others involved with vessel operations."

Their findings are unequivocal and damning of the Carnival Splendor, drawing conclusions that the fire itself could have easily been controlled and extinguished, if not for numerous flaws in the training, maintenance, and operation of the Splendor's emergency automated fire control system.

Everything possible that could have gone wrong, did in fact go terribly wrong, starting with the ship's Fire Instruction Manual (FIM) which had incorrect, outdated, or erroneous instructions, illustrations and diagrams, similar to giving the owner of a Mercedes-Benz a maintenance manual for a BMW, after it had been translated from German into English by someone fluent in Japanese. 

But that was just for starters.  Valves that released carbon dioxide (CO2) gas, which is commonly used on engine and electrical fires, did not open, and completely failed to release the gas, which would have deprived the fire of oxygen. In addition, pipes leaks, some elements of the distribution system were designed in such a way as to retain water at low points that were unable to be drained, and caused corrosion. Seals and pipe joints also had flaws.

The ship's Master, Captain Claudio Cupisti, made the decision to release CO2 from the fixed fire fighting system on Monday, November 8 at about 6:00 p.m. PST.  It failed to operate as designed. Subsequently, crewmembers were unable to activate it manually, and CO2 was never directed into the machinery space.

There were also serious questions raised about the testing and maintenance of the Splendor's CO2 emergency fire extinguishing system, and the training of crew in its use.

Eventually, crew members manually extinguished the fire, but not before it had caused extensive electrical damage, which rendered the vessel dead in the water 55 miles off Punta San Jacinto on the northern Baja California coast, and 110 miles southwest of San Diego, requiring it to be towed back into port.  The U.S. Navy had to airlift 70,000 pounds critical food and water, including cans of Spam, to it by Sikorsky MH-60 Seahawk helicopters and Gruman C-2A Greyhound logistics aircraft from the San Diego based aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76).

All 3,299 passengers and 1,167 crew members ended their three day voyage to nowhere in San Diego on Thursday, November 11, when the massive 1,000 foot long ship was expertly guided into the B Street Embaradero Cruise Ship Terminal by six tug boats at 8:30 a.m. local time.

Before the Coast Guard pointed out these failures, we had contacted Carnival Cruise Line on November 18, 2010 with a list of nine specific questions relating to the ship's mechanical and electrical redundancy, asking why the fire was able to do such destructive damage. These questions were ignored by Ms. Aly Bello, a spokesperson for Carnival Cruise Lines.

A follow up request specifically asked for a conference call interview with a senior executive or naval engineer from Carnival Cruise Lines, or a written reply by such an expert authority to those questions.  Once again, that request was ignored. Instead, we were provided with press releases about cancellations in sailing schedules and the financial impact on the company.  We again contacted the Company, and pointed out that in parallel instances in the aviation industry, we were able to talk with company officials, even during times of stress and turmoil for that carrier.  Once more, our requests for additional information and interviews were ignored.

Perhaps it is unrealistic to expect a cruise ship company, which is literally under fire, to be willing to discuss their own culpability, especially in light of the fact that the cruise industry has been reluctant in the past to discuss safety practices, or issues of Norovirus shipboard disease outbreaks, and as attorney Walker confirmed, has a long history of mishandling fires at sea.

Even in this instance, the U.S. Coast Guard seems to be walking on egg shells, by keeping the vessel's name, which is clearly shown in one of the photographs contained in their report, invisible in the report itself.

Finally, Carnival Cruise Lines declined offers by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to investigate this incident, and instead turned the matter over to the Panama Maritime Authority, the country in which the vessel is registered.  The U.S. Coast Guard requested to join the investigation, and Panama consented.  The NTSB provided two experts to assist the Coast Guard, following its request for technical assistance.  Information on the progress of the investigation will eventually be released by the Panama Maritime Authority.

Any air carrier in the United States which operated in a similar manner would have questions raised about its lack of transparency, and loss of public confidence in that company's crisis management abilities.

Photo credits:

Top photo:  Carnival Splendor towed back to port in San Diego (AP via National Examiner)

2nd photo:  Broken CO2 valve  (Coast Guard via National Examiner)

3rd photo:  Wrong fire instruction manual (Coast Guard via National Examiner)

Bottom photo:  Leaking CO2 piping / hose connections (Coast Guard via National Examiner)

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Yesterday, the U.S. Coast Guard issued 2 Marine Safety Alerts regarding the CO2 firefighting system on Carnival Splendor cruise ship which failed to operate following an engine room fire on November 8, 2010.

The first alert indicated that the fire instruction manual (FIM) did not match the actual CO2 system aboard the cruise ship.  The second alert revealed that the pipes and hose connections of the fire suppression system "leaked extensively," actuating arms to valves were loose, a wrong type of sealant was used on the pipe threads, and a valve failed to work.

The Professional Mariner confirms that these 2 Coast Guard alerts pertained to the Splendor.

The bottom line?   A newly constructed cruise ship, flying the flag of Panama, with a confusing fire instruction manual, poor maintenance, and faulty equipment - endangering the lives of U.S. passengers. 

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Cruise Law News (CLN) has been cited by lots of newspapers and television stations in the last year.  But today I was excited to learn that OpenSecrets.org (Center for Responsible Politics) cited CLN in its blog article about the Carnival Splendor ship fire.

OpenSecrets.org is one of my favorite websites.  It is a nonpartisan watchdog organization which tracks money’s influence on U.S. elections and public policy.  It shines light on who is funding politicians and the effect of money on the government formulation of policy and laws which affect all of us.

The article below is from the Open Secrets Blog "Carnival Cruise Disaster," which cites Ten Years of Cruise Ship Fires - Has the Cruise Industry Learned Anything?  

"News stories continue to trickle in on the nearly disastrous Carnival Cruise voyage that safely embarked in San Diego on Thursday. After an on-board fire disabled the ship, passengers were forced to live two days without the promised luxuries of a Carnival Cruise ship. Fortunately, no one was injured in the fire. The recent fire brings to light the not altogether uncommon occurrence of fires on cruise ships, an event that has made the news more than a few times in recent years. Employees of the parent company of Carnival Cruise Lines, the Carnival Corporation, have contributed modestly during the recent 2010 election cycle -- donating only about $317,600 to federal candidates and committees. And the Carnival Corporation itself has spent only $90,000 on lobbying in 2010, with legislative targets including H.R. 802, the Maritime Pollution Prevention Act of 2008 and H.R. 6434/S. 2881, the Clean Cruise Ship Act of 2008. With the media firmly focused on this nightmare voyage, legislators may turn towards the issue of cruise safety but until then, comedians will continue to rib the harrowing experiences of this cruise."

The article also linked to David Letterman's "Top 10 Things You Don't Want to Hear While You Are Stranded On A Cruise:" 

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Another strange week in the world of cruising, with multiple stories about the cruise industry appearing in the main stream newspapers and on the major television networks.

Cruise Fire Fallout:  The Splendor cruise ship will be out of service until January 2011, meaning Carnival will lose revenue from over 20,000 passengers.  A Time Magazine blog blasted a harsh headline about the predicament with "Worst Cruise Ship Ever: Disabled Splendor To Ruin 20,000 More Vacations."  By my calculations, Carnival is facing around $50 million dollars in lost revenue over the next two months.  But stockholders don't worry.  The cruise line will eventually get every penny back from the manufacturers and designers of the Splendor's engine system.

Cruise Was No Nightmare:  Even though hundreds of local television stations and newspapers covered the "cruise from hell" angle of the Splendor fire, some optimistic passengers (with a sense of humor and a keen perspective) still had a decent time. Colorado residents Maggie and Ken Wildenstein commented "I think Carnival treated us very well" in a nice story in their local newspaper, The Fort Morgan Times, entitled "Cruise  Was No Nightmare."     

Cruise Ship Design Flaw?:  The Splendor was towed to a facility near 10th Avenue in San Diego for repairs to the engine room (article by KUSI News-San Diego).  The U.S. Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will be participating in the investigation into the fire, which is being conducted by the Panama Maritime Authority because, like all of Carnival's ships, the Splendor is registered in Panama to avoid U.S. regulations and taxes.  The local news station in San Diego questions how a single generator failure could cause a catastrophe with the vessel losing all of its power. Does the vessel have a design flaw?  The cruise ship's entire electrical systems should not have been damaged to such a degree.

Business as Usual in St. Kitts:  Two days ago, the tourism board in St. Kitts announced that the "cruise industry" would be sending "security consultants" to the island to investigate whether it was safe for cruise passengers to tour St. Kitts.  Today, a local newspaper announced that the cruise line executives pledged to return to the island - "No More Cruise Ship Cancellation to St. Kitts."  Well, that was a fast investigation by the cruise lines.  Although the local newspapers initially chose not to publish the name of the cruise ship involved in the robbery, they were quick to broadcast the names of the five banditos who allegedly robbed the passengers: Elroy "Stanny" Williams (age 29), Devon "‘X Man" Hodge (28), Grenville "Rogie" Rogers (20), Junior "Q" Sabratie (24), and Admenston Lewis (27) all local residents of Sandy Point in St. Kitts.  It's amazing how fast the local police can arrest suspects when an entire country's economy is based on the cruise industry.    

Oprah Loses Her Allure:  The week ended strangely with another Oprah give away, this time a "7-day cruise on the new largest ship in the world," Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas.  OK.  I admit it.  I am not a fan of Oprah, who seems rather duplicitous to me.  And Royal Caribbean has a well documented history of exploiting its crew members and the Caribbean islands for decades.  So they team up to give some free cruises for PR purposes to promote Royal Caribbean's newest Monstrosity of the Seas.  Sustainability anyone?   Two thumbs down.       

Spy Cruise Spooks (Kooks?):  Talking about strange, last month, I commented on a rather bizarre event scheduled for this week called the Spy Cruise where certain passengers on the Holland America Line's Eurodam cruise ship can attend lectures and talks on espionage, spies, intelligence, and counterterrorism by speakers who are "intelligence experts, leaders, officers, operatives, analysts, authors and historians, many of whom served in the US Intelligence Community."  Well, a "National Security Reporter" for the Toronto Star, Michelle Shephard, sailed on the cruise this week. 

Ms. Shephard interviewed some of the top former spooks, like Michael Michael Hayden, former head of the NSA and CIA (photo left - is he showing how you waterboard a terrorist suspect?), and former CIA director Porter Goss (photo middle) about some serious subjects like "terrorism, tourism and torture."   By the way, nice cufflinks gentlemen!

Hayden, a supporter of waterboarding, dismissed criticism of the interrogation technique, saying "I don’t care . . .  This is a war . . . It’s about defense. It’s not about going through a judicial process.”  The Canadian reporter, Ms. Shephard, points out the incongruity of discussing ". . . waterboarding when seniors graze on buffets and younger, scantily clad passengers gyrate to a Cher tune nearby." 

Weird. 

Credits:

Wildenstein photo:   The Fort Morgan Times, Dan Barker, Times Staff Writer

Oprah and the biggest cruise cruise ship in the world:   Huffington Post

Spy Cruise photo:    Michelle Shephard of the Toronto Star 

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NBC New York has a nice video of the spirited reaction of passengers, who were aboard the disabled Carnival Splendor cruise ship, after returning home. The video is from NBC New York's "The Show Must Go On, Even if the Ship Couldn't" by Tim Minton. 
 

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Now that the disabled Carnival Splendor is back in a U.S. port, some lawyers are advertising that the passengers should consider filing a lawsuit.  One cruise site, offering "cruise insider expert advice," is shilling for a Miami lawyer: "Now is the time to join the November 7, 2010 passengers in a joint effort for compensation. Contact us if you were on this cruise."

Such desperate solicitation like this never ceases to amaze me. 

Any time there is a cruise disaster, the issue of lawsuits arises.  Sometimes there is a basis to file a lawsuit, and sometimes - like this time - there is clearly not.  Many passengers from the Carnival Splendor have contacted our office seeking a maritime lawyer to sue the cruise line for damages.  We have told them that there is no basis to consider suing Carnival under these circumstances.  They are wasting their time and money if they file a lawsuit, for these three reasons:

• In order to have a legitimate case for compensation, a cruise passenger has to suffer a personal injury.  Experiencing inconvenience and unpleasant circumstances does not constitute a personal injury unless there is a physical injury.  If you fall down a flight of stairs in the dark and break your hip, that's a personal injury.  But taking cold showers, smelling toilets that can't be flushed, eating Spam sandwiches in the dark or other similar "cruise from hell" stories are not compensable. 
• The cruise ticket drafted by Carnival protects the cruise line:  “If the performance of the proposed voyage is hindered or prevented by . . . breakdown of the vessel . . . Carnival may cancel the proposed voyage without liability to refund passage money or fares paid in advance.”  The passenger ticket also requires passengers to file suit in Miami, which the United States Supreme Court has upheld.      
• Carnival has already offered to refund the passengers' fare and travel expenses and a free cruise of equal value in the future.  So if you are foolish enough to file suit (in Miami), you simply will not do any better than what is already being offered now.  Plus you will incur legal expenses and travel expenses pursuing a case in Miami which you are certain to lose.

Carnival's offer after this fire should be compared to its response to the fire aboard the Carnival Tropicale cruise ship in 1999.  Like the Splendor, the Tropicale was disabled by an engine room fire and the cruise ship bobbed around in the Gulf of Mexico.  Carnival offered the passengers only a 25% discount - which the passengers felt was a slap in the face and created a public relations nightmare.   

Carnival has handled this fire knowing that its response will be scrutinized in the court of public opinion.  Its CEO traveled from Miami to San Diego and held a press conference where he apologized and offered a full refund, reimbursement of travel expenses and a free future cruise. 

Most Americans think that Carnival's offer is fair.  MSNBC ran a story yesterday "Free Cruise Should Be Enough for Splendor Passengers."  In a poll of over 10,000 readers, MSNBC asked should the passengers stuck on the Carnival Splendor consider legal action?  88% said: "No - Carnival's compensation package is more than generous."  Only 8% said: "Yes - Days at sea in miserable conditions is worth more than money back and a future cruise."  (The remaining 4% said: "Unsure - Passengers may have a tough time since they signed an air-tight contract.") 

Although the passengers on the Splendor were inconvenienced by the fire and the elderly undoubtedly suffered the most, sometimes a cruise line will step up to the plate and make a fair offer.  But if you decide to reject it, please don't call us.  Most jurors will not have much patience for vacationers complaining about eating Pop Tarts on a cruise ship, when some of the jurors cannot afford a cruise in the first place and our U.S. troops have been eating MRE meals in the middle of the desert in Iraq and Afghanistan.    

November 14, 2010 Update:

A reader of Senior Cruise Director John Heald's blog sums up Canival's compensations as follows: 

• Full refund
• Future credit equal to total of what was paid to be applied to a future cruise and must be used within 2 years.
• Refund of transportation costs to the pier and from San Diego back home. One person said they took a bus from Las Vegas to the pier and Carnival (besides putting them up in San Diego is flying them home.)
• Overnight stay in San Diego for those who requested it AND a daily stipend.
• For those who had flights Carnival made the changes for them.
• Any charges made on Sunday on the guests “Sign and Sail card were forgiven!!!  (This included spa treatments, alcohol, purchases in the gift shop AND even gambling losses in the casino slots!!!)
• All photos taken by Carnival of the guests were put out in the photo shop and guests were invited to come get their pictures at no charge!
• On Tuesday and Wednesday Carnival opened some bars. Alcohol, wine and beer was given to the guests.
• Carnival advised the guests that everything in their mini bars was free! (My minibar had 6 sodas, 6 beers, and 10 or 12 shot bottles of alcohol.)
   

Update:

This blog article went  viral and was discussed by:

The Wall Street Journal Blog: "Plaintiffs’ Lawyer to Splendor Passengers: Don’t Bother Suing."

USA Today: "Sue Carnival over Splendor incident? Don't bother, says top cruise lawyer."

Fox News: "Cruise Line Crisis and Compensation."

American Bar Association Journal: "Cruise Ship Lawyer: Smelly Toilets and Cold Showers Won’t Support a Lawsuit."

Gadling: "Should Splendor Passengers Sue Carnival after their Ship Broke Down?"

U.K. Mirror: "Splendor Passengers Back Carnival."

 

Slate Magazine: "Lawyers to Carnival Passengers: Don't Come Crying to Me."

Photo credit:

Top - CBS News video

Bottom - Washington Post video

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This week ends with tugs finally towing the Carnival Splendor cruise ship back to port in San Diego, following a fire in the engine room early Monday morning.

The video below from ABC News 10 contains interviews with passengers, images of passengers finally disembarking, and a brief animation of the fire breaking out in the engine room. 

For additional information, read:

Carnival Splendor Cruise Ship Disabled After Engine Room Fire

International Cruise Victims Discuss Latest Cruise Ship Fire

Ten Years of Cruise Ship Fires - Has the Cruise Industry Learned Anything? 

Do you have video or photographs of the cruise ship fire to share?  Contact us!

• Comments (1)

As I watched CNN and MSNBC interview passengers disembarking from the ill fated cruise aboard the Splendor, passenger after passenger stated that no one explained to them that the cruise ship had been disabled due to a fire.  Several passengers said only that thee was "some smoke."  One of the reporters on CNN responded "that's incredible!" upon learning that the cruise line had kept the passengers in the dark, literally and figuratively, following the fire which left the cruise ship dead in the water.

Keeping passengers in the dark is nothing new for Carnival and other cruise lines following disasters like this. Carnival has the worst history of fires than any other cruise line over the past ten to fifteen years.  In 1995, the Carnival Celebration caught fire.  In 1998, the Carnival Ecstasy burned shortly after leaving the port of Miami.  A year later, the Carnival Tropicale was disabled following a fire in the engine room, and the cruise ship bobbed around in the Gulf of Mexico for a couple of days.  These two Carnival ships had suffered previous fires as well.  In 2006, a large fire broke out on the Star Princess operated by a subsidiary of Carnival, Princess Cruises, in the middle of the night resulting in a death and multiple injuries.  Last year, a fire in the engine room disabled the Royal Princess operated by Princess Cruises, which had to be towed back to an Egyptian port.

In all of these incidents, passengers learned the true facts only after leaving the cruise ship.  Following the Tropicale fire, passengers complained that some crew members did not speak English well enough to provide safety instructions.  The New York Times reported on the debacle in an article "Language Barrier Cited In Inquiry Into Ship Fire."

During the ensuing NTSB investigation, the Master of the Tropicale testified that he was concerned that the engine room would explode. He kept information about the raging fire from passengers because he worried they might panic and jump overboard, according to the St. Pete Times article "Cruise Captain Feared Panic." 

Some of the passengers interviewed yesterday by CNN did not seem to mind the limited information.  One passenger commented that she understood why Carnival withheld information from them, reasoning that it was a prudent decision to avoid panic among the passengers.

I'm not too sure about that.  We have an obligation to our children to screen information to keep them from being unduly frightened.  But treating adult passengers like children is not the cruise line's prerogative.  Passengers should not learn the basic fact that their ship was disabled by an engine room fire only after walking down the gangway.    

November 13, 2010 Update:  The New York Daily News published an article: "Smoke Screen: Carnival Passengers Say Crew Lied About Extent of Fire" reporting that passengers were told by the crew that the blaze that knocked out power on the ship wasn't a fire at all.

"Even as thick black smoke was seen billowing from the rear of the 1,000-ft. ship, 'They tried to calm us by saying it was ‘flameless fire . . . '"

"They … didn't tell us the truth, that's what I found out when my cell phone started working," echoed passenger Marquis Horace. "They told us it was a flameless fire." 

Related story: International Cruise Victims Discuss Latest Cruise Ship Fire

Photo credit:  Jae C. Hong | The Associated Press

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"Two tug boats are slowly towing the Carnival Splendor cruise ship and her 4,500 passengers towards San Diego today. The 952-foot ship, which left Long Beach on Sunday for the Mexican Riviera, has been adrift since an engine room fire early Monday. Rather than lavish meals, passengers are surviving on Spam, Pop Tarts and canned crabmeat flown in by helicopter. Friends and families of stranded passengers are concerned because communication with their loved ones has been severely limited. It’s expected that the Splendor will arrive in port in San Diego late Thursday. Critics say there are serious safety lapses throughout the cruise industry and this accident was waiting to happen. What’s being done to protect passengers?"

 

Guests:

Kendall Carver, Chairman, International Cruise Victims

Jim Walker, Maritime attorney based in Miami and editor of “Cruise Law News”

Photo credit:  Kevin Gray/U.S. Navy via Getty Images (via KPCC South California Public Radio)

L.A. Times:  The L.A. Times also featured ICV members Ken Carver, my client Lynnette Hudson (photo bottom) whose father Richard Liffridge was killed due to a fire on a cruise ship operated by a Carnival subsidiary Princess Cruises, cruise safety expert Mark Gaouette and me in an article "Stranded Cruise Ship Offers Lesson in Huge Vessels' Vulnerabilities."   Here is the text:

"They're called "floating cities," massive cruise ships that resemble skyscrapers and offer all the amenities of high-end resorts — spas and casinos, Broadway shows and amusement parks, fine dining and luxury shopping.

But the Carnival Splendor also offers a cautionary tale about just how vulnerable these mega-ships can be. Left powerless by an engine fire shortly after embarking on a seven-day cruise to the Mexican Riviera, the Splendor is expected to be towed into port in San Diego late Thursday. If the ship cannot make sufficient speed under tow, it is possible it will be taken to Ensenada, company officials said.

An early morning fire in the generator compartment Monday knocked out several of the ship's operating systems and left the nearly 4,500 passengers and crew members without air conditioning, hot food and telephone service. Even the flush toilets were down for a while.

With communications largely cut off, it's unclear what kind of hardship passengers have had to endure. But Carnival Chief Executive Gerry Cahill acknowledged in a statement that passengers were dealing with an "extremely trying situation."

"Conditions on board the ship are very challenging, and we sincerely apologize for the discomfort and inconvenience our guests are currently enduring," he said.

The "gourmet delicacies" of the " Manhattan chic" Pinnacle Steakhouse were replaced by 70,000 pounds of bread, canned milk and other emergency supplies, which were flown from the North Island Naval Air Station at Coronado to the U.S. aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan and then helicoptered out to the Splendor, stranded 160 miles southwest of San Diego. The company is paying the military for the food and supplies, officials said.

"There are significant risks as these ships get bigger and bigger," said Kendall Carver, president of International Cruise Victims. "This one held over 4,000 people. The new ones owned by Royal Caribbean hold over 6,000 passengers and 2,000 crew members, over 8,000 people. A fire on a ship like that would be disastrous."

The Carnival Splendor experienced its problems relatively close to several major ports, making rescue possible in only a few days.

"If it was hundreds of miles out, and you had a fire that wasn't suppressed, and you had rough weather, you'd have a complete disaster," said Jim Walker, a Miami-based attorney who specializes in cruise line litigation.

Although the $40-billion cruise ship industry — and its vessels — has been growing, it has been dogged in the last decade with controversies over passenger health and safety. Carver helped start International Cruise Victims after his daughter, Merrian, disappeared while on an Alaskan cruise in 2004.

The organization has pushed for stiffer laws regulating the cruise ship industry; just four months ago, President Obama signed into law tougher new rules for reporting crimes at sea, improving ship safety and training staff to collect evidence of crimes. The changes will go into effect in 2012.

But the new law makes only passing mention of fire safety issues, even though "the most serious event that can happen on a cruise ship is a main space fire, which is what happened on the Splendor," said Mark Gaouette, former director of security for Princess Cruises and author of the recently released "Cruising for Trouble."

On a Navy ship, Gaouette notes, every person has a fire-fighting role, and the crew is trained constantly in how to respond to a fire. On a cruise ship, "two-thirds to three-quarters of the population are passengers. They become problems and liabilities in a major fire. They have to be shepherded to safe areas."

Statistics are hard to come by for incidents on cruise ships, but Gaouette said the website cruisebruise.com lists eight major fires on cruise ships in the last five years, compared with just three in the previous seven years.

"As cruise ships become larger and their number increases on the high seas," he said, "the threat of fire and other risks to passengers will increase proportionally."

On the Splendor at 6:30 a.m. Monday, the 3,299 passengers were evacuated from their cabins and told to go to the ship's upper deck. They were later allowed to return. By afternoon, the U.S. Coast Guard had dispatched three cutters and an HC-130 Hercules helicopter to the ship's aid. The Mexican navy sent aircraft and a 140-foot patrol boat.

The Coast Guard has remained in contact with the ship throughout the ordeal, officials said. Whether the ship goes to San Diego or Ensenada, the company has promised to transport passengers back to Long Beach.

Miami-based Carnival Cruise Lines has promised a full refund for passengers and a complimentary future cruise equal to the amount paid for this voyage, which was scheduled to visit Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas. The company announced that the Nov. 14 seven-day cruise from Long Beach to the same ports has been canceled.

"The safety of our passengers and crew is our top priority, and we are working to get our guests home as quickly as possible," said Cahill of Carnival Cruise Lines. Carnival Corp., which also includes such lines as Princess Cruises and Holland America and has 98 ships worldwide, reported revenues of $13.2 billion in 2009.

A spokeswoman for the Cruise Lines International Assn. did not respond to requests for comment. The organization's website says the U.S. Coast Guard calls cruising "one of the safest modes of transportation, and the industry is constantly striving to improve its safety procedures. Over the past two decades, an estimated 90 million passengers safely enjoyed a cruise vacation."

But that is little comfort to Lynnette Hudson, whose father died of smoke inhalation during a fire on the Star Princess, which is operated by Carnival, in 2006. It was his first cruise, she testified to Congress, and he was celebrating his 72nd birthday.

Hudson pushed for the more stringent standards that were signed into law this summer and is still fighting for stiffer laws. "I think if there's a major fire on a cruise ship, they're not prepared," she said in an interview. "They don't have sufficient training."

 

For additional information, consider reading: Ten Years of Cruise Ship Fires - Has the Cruise Industry Learned Anything?

 

Photo credits: 

Ken Carver   KPHO Channel 5 Phoenix

Carnival Splendor U.S. Navy via L.A. Times

Lynnette Liffridge (pointing to sprinkler installed after her father's death)  Jim Walker

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A fire broke out this morning in the engine room on the Carnival Splendor during a cruise to the Mexican Riviera (Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas.)  Passengers were told to move from their cabins to the Lido Deck on the upper level. 

The fire burned from around 6:00 a.m. until it was extinguished around 9 a.m. according to several news sources.  However, the fire erupted again according to U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Kevin Metcalf. 

The Press-Telegram reports that two guests and a crew member suffered panic attacks, but no one was physically injured. 

The cruise ship had left the Port of Long Beach on Sunday with 3,299 guests and 1,167 crew members.

The cruise ship is dead in the water.  There are reports that there is only an emergency generator running, which means no air conditioning or working toilets. 

The cruise ship is approximately 55 miles west of Punta San Jacinto, which is about 150 miles south of San Diego, and will have to be towed back to a port by tugs. 

We have written about cruise ship fires many times.  Carnival and its subsidiary Princess Cruises have a long history of cruise ship fires   Consider reading  Ten Years of Cruise Ship Fires - Has the Cruise Industry Learned Anything?

The Splendor is the Carnival cruise ship which Senior Cruise Director John Heald is currently on.  Cruise Director Heald writes an excellent blog called the John Heald Blog.  He wrote a timely and sensitive blog last month when a Carnival crew member tragically committed suicide.  Will he write an informative blog about this latest incident on the Splendor?  

The official statement from Carnival is pretty skimpy, as usual. 

The engines were manufactured by Wartsila.  The Splendor is diesel-electric powered using six Wartsila diesel engines and has a power output of 63,400kW.  I have made an inquiry to Wartsila but I have not received a response.

Were you a passenger or crew member on the cruise ship?  Do you have photos or video to share?  Please leave a comment below.

Articles of interest:

Disabled Carnival Ship Shows How Vulnerable Mega-Vessels Can Be

Carnival Cruise Ship Still Out At Sea, Conditions Onboard 'Challenging'

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The Washington Post reports this morning that a fire on a German cruise ship at a port in western Norway forced the evacuation of the 607 passengers and crew members on board.

A rescue services spokesman says the passengers on the Deutschland cruise ship are being evacuated.

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Today marks the four year anniversary of the death of Richard Liffridge, who died during a vacation cruise on March 23, 2006 when the cruise ship caught fire.

Mr. Liffridge was a devoted husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.  After 20 years of honorable military service, he retired from the United States Air Force.  His Air Force career allowed him to travel to places he might not have otherwise seen such as France, Germany and England. He proudly served his country in the Vietnam and Korean wars.  After retiring from the Air Force, Mr. Liffridge worked for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for a number years.  He subsequently retired and relocated to Locust Grove, GA, to realize his life long dream of retiring and enjoying the company of his family and friends.  Mr. Liffridge was a dedicated and committed member of the Masons - the oldest and largest world wide fraternity dedicated to the brotherhood of man.

We represented Mr. Liffridge's children in litigation against the cruise line.  We mentioned the tragedy in a prior article:   Ten Years of Cruise Ship Fires - Has the Cruise Industry Learned Anything? 

Below is a collage of Mr. Liffridge growing up as a child, in the service, and married with kids.  His loved ones should remember him in happier times, with his family and the friends whose lives he enriched over the years.

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One of the dangers of cruising is the cruise ship catching on fire.  Most families who go on a cruise don't like to think about it. 

But it happens. 

A Rash of Fires on Carnival Cruise Ships

One of the most publicized incidents involved Carnival's Ecstasy (left) in 1998 when it caught fire shortly after leaving the port of Miami.  If the fire had occurred thirty minutes later there would have been no fire boats to extinquish the flames.  Local news helicopters from Miami flew to the scene and filmed the burning ship.  The story was broadcast on all of the local Miami news stations.

The next year, another Carnival cruise ship, the Tropicale, caught fire and the ship was adrift in the Gulf of Mexico with 1,700 passengers and crew members for almost two days after the fire disabled the engines.  This incident received national attention, particularly after passengers complained that some crew members did not speak English well enough to provide safety instructions.  The New York Times reported on the debacle in an article "Language Barrier Cited In Inquiry Into Ship Fire." 

During the ensuing investigation, the captain of the Tropicale testified that he was concerned that the engine room would explode. He kept information about the raging fire from passengers because he worried they might panic and jump overboard, according to the St. Pete Times article "Cruise Captain Feared Panic."

Despite wide-spread media coverage, few major news organizations reported the Tropicale’s prior problems which could be traced back to 1982 when a fire broke out during its inaugural cruise. And the Ecstasy had also caught on fire earlier as well, in 1996.  

Carnival has had more than its share of fires, with the Carnival Celebration burning in 1995 which forced 1,700 passengers to evacuate.

Between the Ecstasy and Tropicale fires, the Sun Vista ignited off of the coast of Malaysia and 1,000 passengers found themselves in lifeboats in the Straits of Malacca. 

There are spectacular photographs of this fire available on line.

Fires on Princess Cruise Ships

The Royal Princess Fire Reported on Twitter 

The most recent fire occurred last year involving a Carnival subsidiary, Princess Cruises.  The Royal Princess' engine room caught fire in June of last year during a Mediterranean cruise near Egypt.  The cruise line initially didn't release any information to the public.  But a passenger, a Pastor from South Carolina, Greg Surratt tweeted on his Twitter account @GregSurratt about the fire from his iphone on the cruise ship. 

Reverend Surratt tweeted that the fire had disabled the cruise ship and a tug had to tow the ship back to port.   Frantic families in the U.S. had to rely on Pastor Surratt for information about their loved ones. He even tweeted photos of the fire and the passengers sprawling out on the deck in the dark (right) via "Twitpic" - an application which permits photos to be uploaded onto Twitter. 

When Princess finally posted its typical less-than-forthcoming corporate press statement, no one was paying attention to the cruise line.  Everyone was listening to Pastor Surratt tweeting away on the cruise ship in the Mediterranean. Fortunately no passengers were injured.

Disaster Strikes the Star Princess

Real tragedy struck passengers on Princess' Star Princess cruise ship in 2006.

A fire began on a balcony and quickly destroyed several hundred cabins and killed a passenger, Richard Liffridge of Georgia.  We represented Mr. Liffridge's children in litigation against Princess.

The cause of the fire was a cigarette being flicked over an upper balcony.  Some of the Princess cruise ships are designed with the balconies of the lower cabins jutting out (photographs below). 

So if anything - like a cigarette - is thrown out  from an upper balcony, it will land in the balconies below.  This created an obvious fire hazard, particularly considering that the balcony chairs and balcony partitions were highly combustible and none of the balconies had heat detectors or sprinkler systems. 

Princess knew about the danger, but chose to simply place a sticker on the sliding glass doors stating: "fire hazard - do not throw cigarette ends over the side."  

Hoping a smoker won't flick his or her cigarette butts over the rail is wishful thinking - and Princess had no fire suppression systems in place to deal with a balcony fire.  The balcony furniture and partitions acted like kindling wood, ready to explode into flames.

Mr. Liffridge's children's story was widely reported, including in an article in the Dover Post, which is re-printed below:

"Siblings Take on Cruise Line after Father’s Death" 

Richard Liffridge’s children intend to make sure no other family endures the heartbreak they must bear for the rest of their lives.

An Air Force tech sergeant who retired at Dover Air Force Base, Liffridge and his wife Vicky were on a Caribbean cruise March 23 when a fire broke out aboard their ship, the Star Princess. The fire damaged or destroyed 283 cabins – and killed Liffridge.

Shortly thereafter, Phil Liffridge and his sisters, Michele Norris and Doris Henry, all of Dover, and Lynnette Hudson of Bear, set up the non-profit Richard Liffridge Foundation in honor of their father. Their goal is to bring about tougher fire regulations aboard cruise ships and to lobby for legislation to make cruise ships safer.

They also plan a wrongful death lawsuit against Princess Cruises, owners of the Bahamas-registered Star Princess.

The official report on the fire, published Oct. 23 by the British Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), placed the blame on an unknown smoker whose cigarette ignited plastic partitions and furniture on one of the stateroom balconies surrounding the exterior of the ship. While room sprinklers kept the blaze from spreading to the interior, choking black smoke from the burning plastic blocked inboard escape routes.

Awakened by fire alarms shortly after 3 a.m., Liffridge and Vicky struggled out of their stateroom and into a hallway, but failed to reach fresh air. Vicky was one of 13 people later treated for smoke inhalation.

Liffridge succumbed to the toxic fumes, his death at first attributed to a heart attack.

The picture of health

“I said, ‘Yeah, right,” Henry said of the news her father had died of a coronary.

At the age of 72, Liffridge had the look and energy of a man 10 years his junior. He was self-conscious about his weight, so he ate properly and exercised regularly at a basement gym in his Locust Grove, Ga., home, Henry said. Her father enjoyed traveling and he and Vicki rarely missed the chance to socialize with their friends.

The cruise was a belated celebration of Liffridge’s birthday, which had taken place March 11.

“He was at the peak of his life,” Henry said.

“Who would have thought he’d be celebrating his birthday and then have so much tragedy?” Norris said.

Although they stop short of accusing the cruise line of deliberate insensitivity, Liffridge’s children feel the Princess Cruise officials were slow to react to the aftermath of the tragedy. Even though Hudson was listed as an emergency contact, no one from the cruise line called to notify her, they said. They found out about their father’s death when their distraught stepmother telephoned from Jamaica, seven hours after the fire was extinguished.

The cruise line also seemed more interested in smoothing things over with survivors whose vacations had been interrupted by the fire than with helping her family, Hudson said.

“They were focused on taking care of people who were inconvenienced, not on the family of the man who died,” Hudson said.

While the cruise line made sure the Star Princess’ passengers got a rebate for the incomplete cruise and a discount on their next excursion, the Liffridge family had to pay to have their father’s remains returned to the United States, Hudson said.

A start, but more needs to be done

Cruise lines, including Princess, started replacing plastic balcony dividers and furniture soon after the Star Princess fire and are acting on additional MAIB recommendations that include posting extra fire watches aboard ship. The United Nations-sponsored International Maritime Organization also is set to discuss new balcony fire safety requirements this December.

But more needs to be done, according to the Liffridge family.

Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., is co-sponsoring legislation in Congress that would require cruise ships calling at U.S. ports to report incidents involving U.S. citizens within four hours. Working through the Liffridge Foundation, the siblings also hope to influence Congress to ban smoking on cruise ships, except within designated areas.

Despite these efforts, Hudson and her sisters and brother know they’re just reacting to an industry that failed to be proactive.

And although they realize their lobbying efforts and the wrongful death lawsuit, if successful, won’t bring their father back, it may help him rest easier.

“Our focus is to make sure this never happens again,” Hudson said.

“No amount of money will replace our loss,” she added. “The main thing for us is that another family does not have to go through this like we did.” 

Lynnette Hudson - Joins The International Cruise Victims Organization 

Mr. Liffridge's daughter Lynnette Hudson, who was appointed the personal representative of her father's estate, joined the International Cruise Victims organization.  She was asked to testify before Congress and proposed recommendations to prevent other families from suffering through similar tragedies.

Her Congressional written submission to Congress can be viewed here. 

Ms. Hudson later boarded the cruise ship after it had been repaired and inspected the external heat detectors and sprinkler systems which were installed after her father's death.

Ms. Hudson is shown pointing to the heat detectors and sprinklers.  Although all Princess cruise ships have been retrofitted with sprinkler systems on the cabin's balconies, not all cruise lines sailing today have such safety systems.    

In her Congressional testimony, Ms. Hudson expressed her fear that other families may face the risks of a cruise fire which killed her father: 

"CLIA tells us that by the year 2010 twenty million passengers will sail on cruise ships.  Visions of these passengers flicking their cigarettes over the rails as unsuspecting passengers are asleep in their cabins, with no fire detectors or sprinklers instantly comes to mind . . . "

What have cruise lines learned over the course of the last ten years?  Is the cruise industry ready for the next fire on a cruise ship filled with several thousands of passengers?  

Additional Information:

Wall Street Journal: "Cruise Lines Scramble to Replace Fire Hazard - Deadly Blaze Exposed Danger of Plastic Balcony Partitions Used on Dozens of Ships"

LA Times: "Cruise Industry's Dark Waters"

NTSB Report of the Carnival Ecstasy fire.

MAIB Report of the Star Princess fire.

Credits:

Carnival Ecstasy  photograph        WFOR

Sun Vista photographs         Sun Vista survivors web site

Royal Princess passengers   Greg Surratt twitpic

Star Princess balcony         Jim Walker's Flickr photostream

Lynnette Hudson             Jim Walker's Flickr photostream

Star Princess balcony on fire        CBS News

Star Princess balcony destroyed    MAIB report

Dover Post article                 Jeff Brown

Star Princess Video               airplaneflyer69 

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